Plain surfaces such as windows, outside surfaces of vehicles, vending machines, or even walls are enhanced by including a decorative pattern on them. This abstract concept of enhancing a surface was once done by artists using paint, brushes or other drawing media. Each surface was an original piece of work that required much time and effort to achieve.
In parallel, mankind invented the printing press. Initially, paper in the form of rolls was unrolled upon a flat surface where keys covered in ink were stamped on the surface. Over time, printing technology improved. Some printers were able to print on acetate and other transparent material using ink with quick-drying capacity. Some other printers were able to print on a rounded surface.
At the intersection of these two fields of technology is the field linked with printing of decorative patterns which can be used over different surfaces. For example, some printers now reproduce artworks via the principle of lithography. In 2005, U.S. application Ser. No. 11/194,744 described a roll processed decorative laminate construction. FIG. 1 reproduced herein taken as FIG. 1A from this prior art shows how an interior area of a mobile platform can be enhanced using a printed decorative laminate applied to a selected surface. This prior art technology describes how a first film like a 1.7 mm layer of polyvinyl fluoride film in gloss or semi-gloss can be used to give a transparency to light to the film layer. What is also shown is the use of an ultraviolet light-blocking additive to the laminate. As shown at FIG. 2 taken from this prior art, adjacent to the film layer 16 is an ink layer 18. The art teaches the use of a digital ink-jet printer to place the ink layer 18 on the film layer. As shown at FIG. 2, an adhesive layer 20 as pressure-sensitive adhesive is applied to a second film layer 22 made of polyvinyl fluoride film (PVF) generally opaque or white in color to create a background. As shown, the process of merging these two layers is roll processing with curing around 225 to 280 degrees Fahrenheit in what is described as lamination.
Six years later, in 2011, two different inventions were introduced relating to this technology. Attached as FIG. 3 is the reproduction of FIG. 3 from U.S. Pat. No. 8,852,369. As shown by the arrow A, a product 15 is unrolled over a series of subsequent steps R, R′ and R″ before being rewound into a second roll 17. As shown, three different ‘ornamental patterns’ are layered consequently on a transparent polymer using liquid applying stations 12, 13 and 14, each with a reservoir allowing for the multilayer coating. This technology teaches how multiple subsequent coats can be applied instead of using a color printer working on the medium.
The same year, U.S. Pat. No. 8,925,223 was filed as U.S. application Ser. No. 13/195,653, and it teaches as shown at FIG. 4 how the transparent film built with the above parameters and technology can be bent and formed into some type of transparent plastic container 25 with lips 27 to be secured on a medium, for example between pieces of paper.
In the past, because of the complexity of the manufacturing linked with producing large supports to be mounted on surfaces, clients often had single needs. The production of a single medium is best done with completely different technology. Today, clients have a need for lower-cost options, which in turn allows these same clients to order larger series, which as can be expected further lowers the cost. What is needed is a new process, method and product adapted for clients having larger needs.